Golf Ball Having Alignment Markings to Correct for Eye Dominance

ABSTRACT

A golf ball having visual markings on its surface visible to the golfer during initial alignment of the ball to the target line and during the stroke, the visual markings being a pair of non-parallel straight lines, preferably joined at one end to form a narrow V-shape. At least one line provides a perception correction for misalignment issues caused by eye dominance.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/517,142, filed Apr. 13, 2011, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to golf balls, and more particularly togolf balls that incorporate visible markings or indicia to improveproper target line alignment, proper set up alignment and properalignment of the club face relative to the target line. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to golf balls having such alignmentand positioning markings that correct for the error produced by left eyedominance or right eye dominance.

In the game of golf, consistent ball striking and putting are two of themain requirements to produce a low score. Crucial factors in accurateball striking and putting include proper target line alignment, propersetup alignment relative to the target line, and proper alignment of theclubface to the chosen target line at the point of ball contact duringthe stroke. The clubface should be perpendicular to the target line whenthe ball is struck. If the clubface alignment at the point of contact isopen (the angle between the target line and the toe side of the clubfaceis greater than 90 degrees) or closed (the angle between the target lineand the toe side of the clubface is less than 90 degrees), the ball willnot travel along the intended target line once struck.

Many putters incorporate a short visual alignment line on the top of theputter blade, with the line being positioned perpendicular to theclubface in order to provide a visual reference for the proper clubfacealignment. Research shows that about half of all golfers use the line onthe top of the putter to align the clubface, while the other half usethe leading edge of the putter. It is theorized that the reason manygolfers ignore the alignment line and use the putter's leading edge toalign the putter perpendicularly to the target line is that thealignment line does not appear to them to be perpendicular to theclubface. This is a result of a condition known as eye dominance, wherea person prefers the visual input from either the right eye or left eye.When viewing the alignment line on the putter, one or the other eye isdominant when the golfer is comparing the alignment line to the leadingedge of the putter clubface and the target line. The dominant eye causesthe alignment line to appear to be skewed slightly open or closedrelative to the clubface, and the golfer misaligns the putteraccordingly in an attempt to correct for this visual misinformation.

A simple test for determining eye dominance is to have the golfer pointat arm's length to an object in the distance. Without moving the pointerfinger, each eye is individually closed. If the golfer has a dominanteye, the finger will remain pointing at the object with that eye open,but will not be pointing at the object with the other eye open.Statistically, about two-thirds of golfers are right eye dominant andabout one-third are left eye dominant. A right-eye dominant golfer willtend to misalign the putter in the open position, since to this golferthe alignment line on the putter will falsely appear to be angledslightly above perpendicular, while a left eye dominant golfer willmisalign the putter in the closed position, since to this golfer thealignment line on the putter will falsely appear to be angled slightlybelow perpendicular. The amount of misalignment tends to range fromabout 0.75 degrees to 2.0 degrees from perpendicular, with amisalignment angle of about 1.25 degrees being most prominent.

Another common technique for improving ball striking and putting is todraw or print a short straight line onto the golf ball. When teeing orreplacing the ball on the green after marking the spot and removing theball, the golfer stoops and from behind aligns the line on the golf ballwith the target line for putting or striking. However, when the golferstands and positions himself to the side of the ball, the visualperspective changes due to eye dominance and the line on the ballappears to be pointing off the target line. For a right-handed golferwith left eye dominance, the line will appear to be pointing to the leftof the target line. For a right-handed golfer with right eye dominance,the line appears to be pointing to the right of the target line. Thisapparent misalignment will consciously or subconsciously affect thegolfer's stroke.

It is an object of this invention to provide a golf ball havingalignment markings that correct the problem of misalignment caused byeye dominance, in a manner that allows for proper initial alignment ofthe ball on the target line and is not visually distracting to thegolfer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises a golf ball having visual markings on itssurface so as to be visible to the golfer during initial alignment ofthe ball to the target and during the stroke, the visual markingscomprising a pair of non-parallel lines. In a preferred embodiment, thevisual marking comprises a pair of lines joined at one end to form anarrow V-shape. The angle of the “V” is relatively small, approximately2 to 4 degrees having been found to be most suitable, and the length ofthe lines should be about 1 inch. The two lines are preferably visuallydistinguished from each other, such as by forming them of differentcolors, widths or patterns, or by adding identifying marks to one lineor both lines, etc. In one embodiment, the lines comprise a targetaiming line and an alignment line to account for eye dominance. Inanother embodiment, the lines comprise a right eye dominance alignmentline and a left eye dominance alignment line. In still anotherembodiment, the golf ball visual markings comprise three lines, acentered target aiming line and a pair of eye dominance alignment lines.

For the embodiments wherein the visual markings include a target aimingline, the golfer aligns the golf ball from behind using the targetaiming line. For the embodiment having both a left and a right eyedominance alignment line, the golfer aligns the ball with the “V” formedby the lines pointing toward the target along the target line. For aright-handed golfer having left eye dominance, the golfer chooses thelower alignment line that is nearest to the golfer when putting, suchthat the golfer will not mistakenly aim the ball to the left of thetarget line, since the near-side alignment line will appear to thegolfer to be properly aligned on the target line because of the eyepredominance. For a right-handed golfer with right eye dominance, thegolfer chooses the upper alignment line that is farthest from the golferwhen putting, such that the golfer will not mistakenly aim the ball tothe right of the target line, since the far-side alignment line willappear to the golfer to be correctly aligned.

The use of the visual markings is more simply applied for tee shots. Thefocused use of the upper or lower line is not necessary. The golferaligns the visual markings toward the intended target, places the golfclub behind the ball using the alignment aide to properly aim the shotand then aligns the body in addressing the ball. Use of the visualmarkings to provide proper aim alignment corrects for misleading visualcues. For example, sometimes the teeing area and/or the tee markers arenot square to the green or fairway and the golfer mistakenly sets-up theshot using the teeing area or tee markers as alignment guides.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a prior art golf ball having a singletarget aiming line and showing the visual misperception of the alignmentof that target aiming line relative to the actual target line forgolfers with left eye dominance or right eye dominance.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the invention, the golf ball having atarget aiming line and a right eye dominance alignment line, the anglebetween the lines being exaggerated for clarity.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the invention, the golf ball having atarget aiming line and a left eye dominance alignment line, the anglebetween the lines being exaggerated for clarity.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the invention, the golf ball having atarget aiming line, a right eye dominance alignment line and a left eyedominance alignment line, the angles between the lines being exaggeratedfor clarity.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the invention, the golf ball having aright eye dominance alignment line and a left eye dominance alignmentline, the angle between the lines being exaggerated for clarity.

FIG. 6 shows the embodiment of FIG. 5, wherein the visual markings andthe angle between lines are shown to scale.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show embodiments of the invention, the golf ball having aright eye dominance alignment line and a left eye dominance alignmentline which do not meet at the front.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the drawings, the invention will now be described withregard for the best mode and the preferred embodiment. In general, theinvention is a golf ball upon which is disposed visual alignmentmarkings to account for eye predominance errors in alignment relative tothe desired target line (i.e., the initial direction in which the ballis to be propelled). The alignment markings correct the misperceptionscreated by right eye dominance (RED) or left eye dominance (LED). Forthe discussion to follow, the invention will be described from theperspective of a right-handed golfer, such that the ball is propelledfrom right to left when the golfer is in the address position. For aleft-handed golfer, certain aspects will be reversed. In FIGS. 1 through5, the angle between the visual markings has been exaggerated forillustrative purposes.

In putting or striking a golf ball 20, the golfer chooses a target line30. The target line 30 is defined as the optimum initial linear line oftravel for striking the golf ball 20, taking into account for a putt anysloping of the green that will cause the ball 20 to curve, such thatwith the proper speed the ball 20 will be hit into the cup, and takinginto account for a longer shot the desired line to result in properdirection after factors such as shot shape, wind, slope and the like areaccounted for. Many golf instructors mentally create the target line 30by picking an aiming point a few inches to a few feet in front of theball 20 and imagining a line passing from that point through the centerof the golf ball 20. As shown in FIG. 1, a golfer will often mark thegolf ball with a short straight line, referred to herein as a targetaiming line 10. The golfer positions himself or herself behind the spotwhere the golf ball 20 is to be placed, whether it is on a tee in thetee box or the spot on the green where the ball 20 has previously cometo rest, its location having been marked and the ball 20 removed. Thegolfer sights down the target line 30 and places the ball 20 such thatthe target aiming line 10 on the golf ball 20 is aligned with theimaginary target line 30. The golfer then moves to the side of the ball20 in preparation for striking the ball. As shown in FIG. 1, it is atthis point that misperception from RED or LED affects the intended shot,since the golfer's eyes are now positioned directly above and generallyparallel to the target line 30. For a golfer with RED, the target aimingline 10 on the ball 20 will mistakenly appear to be pointing to theright of the target line 30, as shown by the RED perceived alignmentline 31. For a golfer with LED, the target aiming line 10 on the ball 20will mistakenly appear to be pointing to the left of the target line 30,as shown by the LED perceived alignment line 32. Rather than believingthat the target alignment line 10 is correctly oriented, most golferswill consciously or subconsciously alter the position of the club faceslightly out of perpendicular to the target line 30, resulting in a shotthat is propelled in an incorrect direction.

To correct the tendency of golfers having eye dominance to deviate fromthe proper target line 30, visual markings or indicia are provided onthe golf ball 20, the visual markings being visible to the golfer forinitial ball placement on the tee or on the green and then duringaddress and ball striking. The visual markings may be drawn afterpurchase or printed during manufacture onto the surface of the golf ball20. The visual markings comprise, in the geometric sense, at least twostraight lines, preferably joined at the forward end to define a narrowV-shape with a small interior angle, although the lines do not have toconnect at the front. The angle should be approximately 4 degrees orless, and each line should be of sufficient width, length and color soas to be readily visible when the golfer is standing over the ball 20.The visual markings must be readily observable by the golfer relative toits background. For example, when golf ball 20 is white, the visualmarkings may be black, red, yellow, orange or another color ofrelatively high contrast.

In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the visual markingson the golf ball 20 comprise two lines, one line being a target aimingline 10 and the other line being either a RED alignment line 11 or a LEDalignment line 12. Although both lines may be identical in appearance,it is preferred that the lines be easily distinguishable such that thegolfer can easily remember which is the correct line 11 or 12 for hiseye dominance and which is the target alignment line 10. For example,the lines may be of different colors, or one line may be solid and theother dashed, or the target alignment line may be provided with a lineidentifier, such as for example a circle, a dot, a cross, a triangle,etc. The RED alignment line 11 may be provided with a RED identifiermark 13 and the LED alignment line 12 may be provided with a LEDidentifier mark 14, such as for example a circle, a dot, a cross, atriangle, etc., or differing markings may be provided on both of thelines. Likewise, the RED identifier mark 13 could comprise the letter“R” and the LED identifier mark 14 could comprise the letter “L”.

This embodiment of the invention corrects misalignment problems causedby eye predominance in the following manner, the golfer choosing thecorrect visual markings to depending on whether the problem is theresult of RED or LED. Whether on the green or on the tee, the golferlooks down the target line 30 from behind using binocular vision andplaces the ball 20 with the target alignment line 10 aimed along thetarget line 30. The golfer then addresses the ball 20 from the side innormal manner. For a right-handed golfer having LED, the golfer focuseson the LED alignment line 12, the line closest to the golfer, such thatthe golfer will not mistakenly aim the ball 20 to the left of the targetline 30, since the LED alignment line 12 will appear to the golfer to beproperly aligned on the imaginary target line 30. For a right-handedgolfer with RED, the golfer focuses on the RED alignment line 11, theline farthest from the golfer, such that the golfer will not mistakenlyaim the ball 20 to the right of the target line 30, since the REDalignment line 11 will appear to the golfer to be correctly alignedrelative to the imaginary target line 30.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 4, whereinvisual markings on the golf ball 20 comprise three lines. The centerline is the target aiming line 10 and RED alignment line 11 and LEDalignment line 12 are disposed to either side of the target aiming line10. In this embodiment, the same golf ball 20 can be used by golferswith either RED or LED. As before described, the target aiming line 10of the ball 20 is aligned with the imaginary target line 30. When thegolfer addresses the ball 20, the golfer focuses on either the REDalignment line 11 or the LED alignment line 12 as needed so that theperceived line direction does not cause a misalignment of the club face.As before, the various lines are preferably visually distinguishablefrom each other, such as with variations in length, thickness, shape,etc., or with the use of a RED identifier mark 13 and a LED identifiermark 14.

The preferred embodiments are shown in FIGS. 5 through 8. In theseembodiments, the visual markings comprise both the RED alignment line 11and the LED alignment line 12. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the RED alignment line11 and the LED alignment line 12 meet at their forward ends to create afully formed “V”. In FIGS. 7 and 8 the RED alignment line 11 and the LEDalignment line 12 are truncated so that they do not meet. With thisembodiment, a pointer mark 15, such as a triangle, dot, circle or thelike, may be provided forward of the truncated RED alignment line 11 andthe truncated LED alignment line 12. With small lines and a narrowangle, the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 may be more discernable to thegolfer. The golfer properly places the ball 20 by aligning the narrow“V” or partial “V” defined by the two lines 11 and 12 along the targetline 30. The golfer then focuses on either the RED alignment line 11 orthe LED alignment line 12 as needed. As before, the various lines arepreferably visually distinguishable from each other, such as withvariations in length, thickness, shape, etc., or with the use of a REDidentifier mark 13 and a LED identifier mark 14. FIGS. 6 through 8 areprovided to show the visual markings in proper scale relative to thegolf ball 20, illustrating that the deviation angle marked by the REDand LED alignment lines 11 and 12 is relatively small.

Preferably the alignment markings are manufactured onto the golf ball asthis will allow for better accuracy in placement and clarity of thetarget aiming line 10 and the RED and LED alignment lines 11 and 12.Alternatively, the alignment markings can be drawn onto any golf ball 20using a Sharpie or similar writing implement. In this case use of atemplate having appropriate cut-outs or linear edges is preferred toprovide better accuracy in placement, the template being curved to matchthe curvature of the golf ball 20.

It is understood that equivalents and substitutions for certain elementsset forth above may be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art,and therefore the true scope and definition of the invention is to be asset froth in the following claims.

1. A golf ball comprising alignment markings to correct for eyedominance, said alignment markings comprising a right eye dominancealignment line located on said golf ball and a left eye dominancealignment line located on said golf ball, said right eye dominancealignment line and said left eye dominance alignment line beingnon-parallel and defining an angle no greater than approximately fourdegrees.
 2. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein said right eye dominancealignment line and said left eye dominance alignment line meet to form a“V” shape.
 3. The golf ball of claim 1, further comprising a right eyedominance identifier mark and a left eye dominance identifier marklocated on said golf ball.
 4. The golf ball of claim 2, furthercomprising a right eye dominance identifier mark and a left eyedominance identifier mark located on said golf ball.
 5. The golf ball ofclaim 1, wherein said right eye dominance alignment line and said lefteye dominance alignment line are different colors.
 6. The golf ball ofclaim 5, further comprising aright eye dominance identifier mark and aleft eye dominance identifier mark located on said golf ball.
 7. Thegolf ball of claim 2, wherein said right eye dominance alignment lineand said left eye dominance alignment line are different colors.
 8. Thegolf ball of claim 1, wherein said right eye dominance alignment lineand said left eye dominance alignment line do not meet.
 9. The golf ballof claim 8, further comprising a pointer mark located on said golfforward of said right eye dominance alignment line and said left eyedominance alignment line.
 10. The golf ball of claim 8, furthercomprising a right eye dominance identifier mark and a left eyedominance identifier mark located on said golf ball.
 11. The golf ballof claim 8, wherein said right eye dominance alignment line and saidleft eye dominance alignment line are different colors.
 12. The golfball of claim 9, further comprising a right eye dominance identifiermark and a left eye dominance identifier mark located on said golf ball.13. The golf ball of claim 9, wherein said right eye dominance alignmentline and said left eye dominance alignment line are different colors.14. The golf ball of claim 1, further comprising a target aiming linelocated on said golf ball between said right eye dominance alignmentline and said left eye dominance alignment line.
 15. The golf ball ofclaim 2, further comprising a target aiming line located on said golfball between said right eye dominance alignment line and said left eyedominance alignment line.
 16. The golf ball of claim 8, furthercomprising a target aiming line located on said golf ball between saidright eye dominance alignment line and said left eye dominance alignmentline.